A Winchester Visit

In the first weekend of September the Master extant arranged a short weekend visit to his home City of Winchester. A very informal and flexible gathering, with some staying the full weekend, whilst others travelled for the day. The Friday afternoon was given over to the Cathedral, with two tours; the first at ground floor level, unfortunately not including the Crypt as our ever enthusiastic guide ran out of time. The second tour took us into the library, the bell chamber and the roof of the tower, all by way of a very, very, tight spiral staircase, attacked with grim determination!

On the Saturday, when we were joined by more “day trippers”, the day started with a bus ride out to the Hospital of St Cross and Almshouse of Noble Poverty. The church is contemporaneous with the Cathedral and has retained much more of its early detailing. The tour was enthusiastically directed by an earlier architect to the Hospice, which added considerable interest, almost stripping away the layers of time. Prior to the commencement of the tour,- the Master Architect met the Master of St. Cross, and had the pleasure of presenting a cheque, being the Master’s Charitable disbursement donated to the Hospice in aid of their restoration programme. From St. Cross there was a brisk walk through the meadows, back to Winchester and lunch in one of the oldest pubs in England. This was then followed by a guided tour of Winchester College, a visit which was a first even for the Master, despite having lived most of his life in Winchester. The College, in total, has nine grade I, four Grade II*. and eighty Grade II listed buildings! Due to the presence of Wykehamists in Cromwell’s army, Winchester college and indeed the cathedral were spared the

extreme destruction of its properties.. Of particular interest was Sir Hubert Baker’s war memorial,- an enclosed cloister and garden. The guide continued well past his allotted time, it was almost becoming dark, and yet we only seamed to scratch the surface. The evening was spent in a very convivial restaurant and the following Sunday morning was taken up with a visit to the Pilgrims Hall of circa 1308, which possess a venerable hammer beam roof, and then a stroll around the lower city walls and the odd castle/ palace before everyone making there own ways home. A successful weekend, with remarkably good weather. A very pleasant way for the Master and his Mistress to complete their year. With thanks to all who were able to participate.